Reviewed on 25th November 2006.

Strike Anywhere

Live at Joseph's Well on Wednesday, 22nd November 2006

The sound has always been well in the Well, prompting the recent influx of American hardcore bands like Samiam and Propagandhi and these 'intimate' gigs.

The Mercury League are no strangers to this venue; the Sunderland chaps have played here at the Out Of Spite summer ding dong before. Their sound can definitely be placed in the North East, best described as fast, melodic hardcore.

Liverpool's Down and Outs have many influences, noticeably Rancid, The Clash and a lot of the Ramones. The poppy power punk serves to cool the crowd down slightly after the pure aggression of The Mercury League, but this does not mean a dip in the ferocity of the pit.

Now the crowd go mental for The Loved Ones (not the 1960's Australian group), who in the past have toured with NOFX, Bad Religion and The Bouncing Souls. The singer seems to have trouble with his microphone, with sees the sound engineer constantly pacing the stage propping the stand back up, until he gives in and just hangs by the mic, putting it in place every, on average, two minutes. In fact the whole band seem to fidget a lot, but less on the movements. There are plenty of sing-a-long moments, as the Philadelphia band are poppy like the previous lads with Clash and Ramones influences, but act more unpredictably on stage, throwing themselves about.

Richmond's Strike Anywhere are a conscious band; their song 'Collateral Damage' from new album 'Dead FM' has been nominated for a liberation award (a Libby) for Best Animal Rights Song 2006 by Peta2. And if the look of a singer with dreads singing about world wrongs doesn't bring back memories of the great RATM, songs like 'To The World' will. The crowd are truly mental now, with monitors being pushed further on stage and crowd surfers galore. Singer Thomas Barnett encourages this, much to the amusement of fellow band members, who are happy to hang back. His voice is strained by the end, as their lyrics are delivered with forceful shouting, backed by melodic punk rock.